1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for forming photographic images, a recording medium for use in the method, and photographic images formed with the method. This invention particularly relates to a method and apparatus for printing a plurality of photographic images, which have been obtained from various different kinds of image processings, on a photosensitive material or displaying the plurality of the photographic images on a display device, a recording medium, on which a program for the method has been recorded, and photographic images formed with the method.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Ordinarily, when photographs are taken and the negative film is given to a photo processing shop, the negative film is subjected to a predetermined developing process and a predetermined printing process, and color photographs having been printed under standard conditions are furnished to the photographer. In processing laboratories and miniature development laboratories, the processes, which are ordinarily considered as being optimum, are carried out under standard processing conditions (negative image developing conditions and printing exposure conditions) having been set previously, such that prints coming up to expectations of photographers may be furnished. However, for some photographs, it is often desired that the processes be carried out under conditions different from the standard processing conditions. For example, as for tones and gradation, it is often desired that photographs, which are more bluish or reddish than the standard tone, and photographs, which are lighter or darker than the standard gradation, can be obtained.
Recently, digital photograph techniques have became popular. With the digital photograph techniques, a digital image signal can be transformed in various desired ways by image processing. Therefore, tones, gradation, and sharpness (the degree of emphasis of sharpness and edges) can be altered. Also, soft focus processing for blurring an image as a whole and center focus processing for rendering only the center portion of an image sharp and blurring the peripheral regions can be carried out. Further, a portion of an image can be enlarged as in conventional enlargement, and effects equivalent to those of variable power photographing can thereby be obtained. Specifically, the results equivalent to those with the variable power photographing can be obtained by combining the image size enlargement and the trimming with each other. In this manner, from an image signal having been obtained from a single time of photographing, various variations of photographic images can be obtained with various kinds of image processings.
As described above, recently, photographs can be printed under processing conditions different from the standard processing conditions, which have been set previously. However, ordinary users cannot clearly find what finish each of the various variations yields. Therefore, the various variations, which enhance the enjoyment of photographs, have not heretofore been utilized sufficiently.
Accordingly, there is a strong demand for a method, with which the variations of prints obtained from image processings that are carried out by setting the processing conditions to various different processing conditions can be experienced easily.
The primary object of the present invention is to provide a method of forming photographic images, with which various prints obtained from image processings that are carried out by setting the processing conditions to various different processing conditions can be experienced easily.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for carrying out the method of forming photographic images.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a recording medium, which records a program for the method of forming photographic images.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide prints formed with the method of forming photographic images.
The image processings, which are carried out by setting the processing conditions to various different processing conditions, are not limited to the processing for altering the tones and gradation (including the image density), and include the processing for altering the sharpness (the degree of emphasis of sharpness and edges), the blurring processing, such as the soft focus processing and the center focus processing, and the enlargement processing. The image processings also include the processing for printing a color photograph as a black-and-white image or an image with a sepia tone. (The term xe2x80x9ctonexe2x80x9d as used herein also includes the black and white and the sepia tone.)
Recently, research of digital photo printers has been carried out. With the digital photo printers, an image having been recorded on photographic film (hereinbelow referred to as the film), such as negative film or reversal film, or on printed matter is photoelectrically read out, and an image signal having thus been obtained is converted into a digital signal. The digital signal is then subjected to various kinds of image processing, and a processed image signal is thereby obtained. Thereafter, recording light is modulated with the processed image signal, and a photosensitive material, such as photographic paper, is scanned with and exposed to the modulated recording light. In this manner, a visible image is printed on the photosensitive material. With the digital photo printers, layouts of printed images, such as combining of a plurality of images, division of an image, and editing of characters and images, and various kinds of image processing, such as color/image density adjustment, conversion of magnification, and contour emphasis, can be carried out freely. Therefore, prints having been edited and processed freely in accordance with applications of the prints can be obtained. Also, in cases where the conventional surface exposure techniques are employed, the image density information having been recorded on film, or the like, cannot be reproduced perfectly due to limitation imposed upon the reproducible image density range of photosensitive materials. However, with the digital photo printers, prints can be obtained such that the image density information having been recorded on film, or the like, can be reproduced approximately perfectly. The term xe2x80x9cphotographic imagexe2x80x9d as used herein also includes the photographs, which are printed by the digital photo printers.
As a technique for simultaneously obtaining images under various different image processing conditions, for example, it may be considered to divide the optical path of an image projecting optical system into at least two optical paths, and to insert a filter or an optical system into one of the optical paths. However, such a technique has the problems in that the width, over which the conditions can be altered, cannot be kept large, and alteration to different kinds of processing conditions cannot be carried out easily. For example, with respect to the sharpness, and the like, the alteration of the processing conditions is almost impossible.
The present invention provides a method of forming photographic images, wherein the improvement comprises the steps of printing a standard color image and at least one processed image on a single sheet of photosensitive material, the standard color image being obtained by carrying out standard image processing on a single original color image, the processed image being obtained by carrying out image processing under different processing conditions on the original color image.
By way of example, the different processing conditions may be the processing conditions for altering an image tone, image sharpness, image gradation, image trimming, or an image size enlargement scale factor. Alternatively, the different processing conditions may be the processing conditions for altering a combination of at least two of an image tone, image sharpness, image gradation, image trimming, and an image size enlargement scale factor. Also, the original color image may be a negative image, which has been recorded on a negative film, or may be given as a digital image signal. In cases where the original color image is given as a digital image signal, the different processing conditions are the conditions of image processing, which is carried out on the digital image signal.
The present invention also provides an apparatus for forming photographic images, wherein the improvement comprises the provision of means for forming a standard color image and at least one non-standard color image on a single sheet of photosensitive material, the standard color image being obtained by carrying out standard image processing on a single original color image, the non-standard color image being obtained by carrying out image processing under different processing conditions on the original color image.
With the method and apparatus for forming photographic images in accordance with the present invention, it is possible to obtain photographic images, comprising a standard color image and at least one processed image, which are printed on a single sheet of photosensitive material, the standard color image being obtained by carrying out standard image processing on a single original color image, the processed image being obtained by carrying out image processing under different processing conditions on the original color image.
The method of forming photographic images in accordance with the present invention can be carried out by the utilization of a recording medium, on which a program for printing a standard color image and at least one processed image on a single sheet of photosensitive material has been recorded, the standard color image being obtained by carrying out standard image processing on a single original color image, the processed image being obtained by carrying out image processing under different processing conditions on the original color image. Specifically, the method of forming photographic images in accordance with the present invention can be carried out by the utilization of a recording medium, such as a CD-ROM, which records a program for carrying out standard image processing on a single original color image, a program for carrying out image processing under different processing conditions on the original color image, and a program for printing, on a single same sheet of paper, a standard color image obtained from the standard image processing and at least one processed image obtained from the image processing under different processing conditions.
The number of the processed image obtained from the image processing carried out under different processing conditions need not necessarily be one. A plurality of processed images, which have been obtained by carrying out the image processings under different processing conditions, should preferably be printed together with the standard color image. In such cases, the results of various kinds of image processings can be seen simultaneously.
Photographs, which are obtained by carrying out the image processing under the processing conditions different from those for the standard color image, need not necessarily be printed on a single same sheet of paper. If the photographs are located side by side and can be seen simultaneously, the original purposes can be accomplished. Therefore, for example, the photographs may be printed on paper having been cut into different pieces.
The present invention also includes the cases wherein the images obtained from different image processings are displayed on a display screen of a display device. Specifically, a standard color image and at least one processed image may be displayed on a display screen of a single display device, the standard color image being obtained by carrying out standard image processing on a single original color image, the processed image being obtained by carrying out image processing under different processing conditions on the original color image.
With the method of forming photographic images in accordance with the present invention, a standard color image, which is obtained by carrying out standard image processing on a single original color image, and at least one processed image (at least one non-standard color image), which is obtained by carrying out image processing under different processing conditions on the original color image, is printed on a single sheet of photosensitive material or displayed on a display screen of a single display device, such as a cathode ray tube (CRT) display device. Therefore, the prints, which represent the images obtained by altering various kinds of processing conditions, can be seen simultaneously on a single sheet of photosensitive material. Also, the displayed images, which represent the images obtained by altering various kinds of processing conditions, can be seen simultaneously on a single display device. Accordingly, various variations of processed images obtained from the image processings, which are carried out by setting the processing conditions to various different processing conditions, can be experienced easily.
For example, by the side of a standard color photograph of an original image, a black-and-white photograph or a sepia-tone photograph of the same original image can be seen. Also, a photograph, in which a pattern of a person at a center region has been emphasized by rendering the pattern of the person clear and blurring the surrounding regions, can be seen by the side of a standard color photograph. Therefore, the photographer can enjoy various new variations of photographs such as that he can select to take additional prints in a sepia tone or to take one additional center focus print.
In practice, the variations of prints can be directly set in an album, and an interesting collection of photographs can be formed.
In cases where the images obtained from different image processings are displayed on a display screen of a display device, for admiration, for reference in specifying an order of printing, or the like, a standard color image and various non-standard color images may be displayed side by side as in an index print. Alternatively, pairs of a standard color image and non-standard color images may be changed over at predetermined time intervals and displayed successively as in frame feed displaying. As another alternative, the images may be changed over and displayed successively as in a motion picture.
The recording medium in accordance with the present invention may take on the form of a medium which records the novel software functions for the entire system. Alternatively, the recording medium in accordance with the present invention may take on the form of a medium which records an improved version of conventional software functions installed in a control device for operating a digital printer.